The present invention relates to automated techniques for checking store shelves for compliance with planograms by automatically performing planogram to image registrations.
Large retail stores, or chains with a number of stores, typically have an interest in properly arranging their stock on their shelves, counters, and displays in accordance with various business and marketing factors. Such arrangements may significantly increase sales over other arrangements. Typically, such stores will develop what is known as a planogram. A planogram is a schematic diagram that illustrates in detail where every product in a retail store should be placed. These schematics typically present a flow chart for the particular merchandise departments within a store layout and also show the aisle and shelf where an item is located.
Typically, stores want to closely follow their shelf stocking compliance because of the various business and marketing factors. Conventionally, it was necessary to have people visually check for such compliance, using printouts of planograms. This is a time-consuming and inefficient way to check compliance.
More recently, automated techniques for checking store shelves for compliance with planograms have arisen. However, there are a number of problems with such automated techniques. For example, object detection itself may difficult, but the comparison of the detected objects to the planogram (the expected positions) is also difficult. The planograms may be poorly defined, with inaccurate geometric information on the placement of objects. Shelves may be poorly stacked, or the wrong shelf may be stacked. Conventional automated techniques typically handle such inconsistencies with the model registrations poorly. A need arises for techniques that can handle the unknown arrangements that are typical in a uniform way, with little user involvement, and with relatively little processing complexity.